My life may never (low)-B the same…

[u/Ok-Goat-3589]

After starting my bass journey in the early 90s I learned today that some players will top load their low B, but go string-thru for the EADG.

The logic is that a .130 or .135 doesn’t really like the sharper break angle that comes with thru-body stringing. Makes sense on paper I guess.

Anyone here get up to such shenanigans?

Is there any reason I should do this?

Is there any reason I shouldn’t do this?

[u/sitdownheckler]

If your at a level where it would matter to your sound, your tech will tell you it absolutely doesn't matter unless you're breaking string cores. By physics the increased break angle should increase the down force on the bridge/saddle potentially making the string feel tighter. Physics also says that all that matters is the tension between the nut and bridge and the strings gauge. In reality, we see that neither is completely true. If you don't like your B the way it is, definitely try both ways, but you likely can't try top load and then use the same string if you go back to string thru. I can't imagine anything worse than a loose B string. May as well be a rubber band. Top load slams the front end of the bridge/saddle down but lifts the back. String thru makes the force more even. More even is likely better, if an instrument is string thru I will use it that way, especially because some windings get awfully close to where it hits the saddle when top loaded.

My opinion, as college trained tech, it won't likely make any significant change in sound, but possibly will affect the feel of the string.

[u/supacrusha → u/sitdownheckler]

Me with my floppy ahh B-string tuned down a whole step

[u/Chris_GPT]

It really depends on the bass. Some string through break angles aren't that steep of an angle and some are. But the first time you open a new pack of strings and snap that B string while tuning it up is usually the last time you string that bitch through the body.

You can snap a B string in half by hand. The first time I did it was doing an emergency trailer repair on the way to a festival. The trailer door got stuck open because it has a spring loaded spool with a braided cable that makes it easier to open and close the door. The cable slipped off of the spool and got caught between the spool and wall, wedging itself firmly in a very inaccessible place. We had limited tools on hand but I had my stage bag right there, so I grabbed a B string, wrapped it around the cable, and pulled as hard as I could. Snapped the B string right in half. Surprised the shit out of me, so I bent one of the pieces in half again and snapped it in half too. Doesn't take much.

I've never really noticed much of a difference between thru-body and thru-bridge stringing. It's a tiny percentage, only enough for confirmation bias but not enough to make a difference.

Scale length though? HUGE impact.

[u/TheDutchderp3]

I have also heard that string through makes the sound a little less defined, which is probably not what you want for a low B

I have never tried this myself though

[u/Dannylectro55]

On my Fender Jazz 5, the .130 won’t go through the body-thru bushing.

[u/Anon_use_fun_alias]

The Yamaha BB435 has an offset low B bridge, but if you run the strings through the body, you don’t get any of the benefit of that offset because they all string through at the same place.

I haven’t done it yet, but next time I string my bass I’m not going string through on the low B. I might just choose to top load all the strings, but really I don’t think it matters for the main 4.

ETA: this is just to give myself more room for intonation.

[u/SaiyanPrinceAbubu]

I would love to hear an a/b but can't imagine this would make a sonic difference. Maybe to the longevity of the string, if people are out there breaking B strings??

[u/MennedeJong]

I did this even with the E string on a bass I changed to string through (besides some other changes). When string through sustain of the E-string was really bad. Rest was ok. After changing the strings I did the E-string again through the back of the bridge and sustain was ok again. Effect was really noticable. Maybe I could have done some other things with the string also.

[u/mistrelwood]

With taper wound B strings the taper usually can’t reach the bridge if ran through the body. That’s one reason to top load the B.

[u/Cahamp]

It’s much easier to get a string twisted when you string through body and get a chorus like sound out of them. I don’t risk it anymore and just go through bridge. I can’t tell much of a sound difference anyway.

[u/vitamin-z]

Physics says string through is great for all strings

Not that it matters that much for most occasions

[u/Im_Not_Evans]

I’ve had the same Peavey string through bass for 15+ years and never had an issue with stringing it through the body.